Getty Chad Ochocinco thinks Russell Wilson makes "too much sense" for the Pittsburgh Steelers
As fans wait to see how the Pittsburgh Steelers will address their quarterback situation, former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco decided to share his opinion on what should come next for the team.
The former All-Pro thinks there’s a clear choice for the team to acquire at the position.
During an appearance on the January 19 episode of the Nightcap podcast, Ochocinco told Shannon Sharpe that the Steelers making a move for Russell Wilson “makes too much sense”.
“If you’re serious, obviously with Mike Tomlin getting an extension, Russell Wilson is out on the market. He is the one you need to get,” Ochocinco said. “I think the pairing with Russell Wilson, that offense, Diontae Johnson, Najee Harris, I think they will be on fire. Perfect, playoff coach, playoff quarterback, Super Bowl coach, Super Bowl quarterback. Man, George Pickens is gonna love that. It just makes too much sense to pass up an opportunity like that if you’re serious about contending in the AFC North.”
It’s not the first time Ochocinco has made this suggestion. He also brought up the idea shortly after the Broncos benched Wilson.
https://x.com/ochocinco/status/1740189953622159504?s=20
Wilson is one of the many quarterbacks that have been named as potential additions for the Steelers.
Opinions Vary on Who Steelers Should Pursue
Early on in the 2023 NFL offseason, the Steelers have plenty of options if they decide their quarterback for 2024 isn’t actually one they already roster and each of those options has gotten support from different sources.
In just the past week, Marcus Spears said that the Steelers would “absolutely” be contenders if they acquired Kirk Cousins.
Keyshawn Johnson thinks the Steelers need to go get Justin Fields.
Dan Orlovsky named Baker Mayfield as a QB the Steelers need to call about alongside Cousins and Fields.
Now Ochocinco has thrown his support behind a move for Wilson.
As far as options on the team go, Antonio Brown answered a question on Twitter by choosing Mason Rudolph to be the starter.
There hasn’t been much public support for Kenny Pickett this offseason and he’s likely to need to compete for the starting job with whoever else the team has on the roster at the start of the preseason.
There is no more important decision facing the Steelers right now than what they are going to do at quarterback and they have plenty of options to consider as they make that choice.
Wilson Isn’t Actually Available Yet
While Wilson is a player that is expected to be playing for a new team in 2024, there is one kind of important roadblock standing between him and a move right now.
Neither the team nor the player has actually expressed that they’re looking for a move yet.
The team benching him for the last two weeks of the season certainly seemed to indicate that his time in Denver was coming to an end.
However, Wilson said afterwards that he still wanted to continue playing for the Broncos.
The team also doesn’t really stand to gain much by releasing Wilson before the 2024 season.
He would still carry a massive dead cap hit and they don’t have a replacement ready to go.
They’ll likely draft a quarterback in the first round of the upcoming draft, but whoever that QB is would probably benefit from a year sitting behind Wilson.
If they get offered a trade that limits the hit they take on Wilson’s contract, letting him go becomes a lot more appealing, but there haven’t been any reports yet of teams preparing a bid for the nine-time Pro Bowler.
There is absolutely the possibility that Wilson could play elsewhere in 2024 and maybe the Steelers will be that team, but as it stands he’s a a QB on the roster of a team that doesn’t have another starter if they let him go.